I Belong To You
by Rossignol1984
Summary: Life after Love Hurts. Things haven't turned out the way they should have, and when Summer's life starts to fall apart, Seth becomes her savior... story completed, please review!
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1  
**  
Oh no. It was on its way. Again. Summer felt sick of feeling sick and throwing up. This had been going on for over a week now and she was tired of it. Summer ran over to the toilet and let it come out. After a few minutes had passed, she slowly walked over to the sink and washed up. She had to hurry now. If Eric couldn't use the bathroom in time, he would become aggressive again, and she was even more tired of crying and fighting than of throwing up.

Summer looked at herself in the mirror. 'What happened to me?', she thought. Her face was pale, obviously from being afraid of being beaten by Eric all the time. At the beginning, she thought that it maybe would stop again, that he had a few bad days at work. But the beating became more and more regular, like when she wasn't home in time, when she didn't do what he said or if she even dared to disagree with him or confront him with the fact that he was with a different woman almost every night.

And now she was carrying his child, which was probably the most terrible thing that could have happened, since Eric told her over and over again not to forget birth control. He didn't want any children, they meant too much responsibility to him. The day Summer found out about her pregnancy she felt like the whole world came crushing down on her. Just the mere imagination of how Eric would react scared her to death. She was convinced that if Eric ever found out about the baby, he would have he worst rage attack ever.

There wasn't a day that passed without the sweet thought of running away. But who could she run to? Her mother was God-knows-where in Europe, living the 'dolce vita' and not caring a bit about what was going on with her only child. Her step-mother had been sent off to psychiatry after years and years of abusing painkillers and anti-depressants, and her father died in a car crash the year after her graduation from college. And then she even lost Seth, the only boy she had ever loved in her whole life, because of a stupid mistake she made. She didn't even love Eric when she had the one-night-stand with him, it was just the excitement of something totally new that made her cheat on Seth. She never regretted anything more in her whole life. But on the other hand, she never was more thankful that Seth finally managed to forgive her, and that the two of them were now best friends.

But even if she had the best friends in the world, Summer stood in front of the mirror and felt completely alone. She never told anyone about what happened at home, after three years of living with Eric, she was the master of making up silly excuses or denial when she was asked what was wrong with her. She was just too ashamed to admit to anyone that she let a thing like that happen to her. But after what had happened last night, when Eric gave her a bruised lip because she forgot to bring him his beer, it should be really difficult to hide it from the others that she was beaten. He had never hit her in the face before, so they were approaching a new level. Absently, Summer wiped away the tears that had come runnning down her cheeks and threw the thought of leaving Eric away. She didn't have the courage to do it, because then, he might really kill her.

"What takes you so long in there?" Eric's angry voice sounded through the door, and Summer quickly finished washing up, trying to cover her bruised lip from last night with some makeup, managed a smile and stepped out of the door in the sleeping room, where Eric sat on the edge of the bed, with the typical gaze he had when he was about to do it again. Summer's heart pounded like crazy when Eric stood up and came towards her. Surprisingly, he gave her a fat, smacking kiss on the lips that made Summer feel sick all the way again. "I'm gonna be late for work, honey," he snarled and went into the bathroom. Honey. Summer disgusted that word. Who was she kidding? She disgusted Eric, she disgusted her life and now, being pregnant, she was trapped. "Jackass," she mumbled and put on her clothes, her mood lighting up a bit by the thought that she was off to work in five minutes or so.

Summer gave herself a final check in the bedroom mirror. Again, she looked terrible, but she didn't even care. The most important thing was that nobody saw her bruised lip, and she had managed to make it disappear the best she could. Quickly, Summer grabbed her purse and keys, and shouted through the room, "I'm leaving for work now!" She heard Eric turning the shower off and was afraid that she again had done something wrong. "Take care and be home at seven!", he yelled. Without answering, Summer left living hell and ran off into a day of short freedom.

Seth sat on his huge brown desk in his office, trying to get the article done he should have been doing last night when he came home. His eyes went to the photo on his desk. It showed Madison Baker, his cute blonde girlfriend he had been living together now for two and a half years, who was the reason that he didn't finish the article. Seth didn't remember a night in the last week when the both of them didn't fight, mostly about the fact why Seth worked so much and neglected Madison for it.

Seth's eyes wandered to another picture he had on his desk, showing him, Summer, Ryan and Marissa on their college graduation day. He stared at Summer for a long time, recalling how she urgently pleaded him to let her leave work yesterday a little sooner. In his mind, Seth compared the Summer on the picture with the Summer she had been since the day college ended. Her happiness had almost completely disappeared and she always had a look of fear in her face. Summer looked very unhappy, and worst of all, she always denied that she had problems when someone asked her what was wrong. Seth didn't want to admit it, but he still cared a lot about Summer. Forgiving her for cheating on him had been one of the hardest things he had ever done, but now she had become the most important person in his life. And knowing that she was hiding something made him crazy. But so far, it hadn't been evident what her problem was.

The ringing of the phone woke Seth up from his daydreaming.  
"Cohen Classic, Seth Cohen speaking," he answered in his most professional voice.  
"Hey, sweetie, it's me!" Madison practically sung the words into the receiver, which made Seth feel guilty, recalling that he just had made Summer the most important person in his life.  
Seth cleared his throat and sat up straight. "Hey, Maddy, how's it going?"  
"Just great. Marissa and I just received the first pieces of our new winter collection, and it's just awesome! I tell you, Marissa is the best designer in the country. No, probably on the planet!"  
She sounded very happy, and Seth smiled. Since Madison and Marissa had opened their own fashion store, he had to hear almost every night how great Marissa was, and how talented and so on. In his opinion, the clothes the both of them purchased just didn't go along with his style, which was the reason why he had never bought something from them.  
"I bet the clothes don't go with my Jew-fro, like they never do," he said simply, teasing Madison a little.  
She laughed. "Yeah, well, no one has such a special taste than you… Listen, I have to go now, I just wanted to remind you that we have dinner reservations at seven tonight. Don't be too late again!"  
Before Seth could answer, Madison had hung up.   
Sighing, he turned his attention to the computer, when he saw Summer standing in the doorway, looking worse than any other day this week. She had a weird bruise on her lip, which she obviously tried to hide underneath a thick layer of make-up. Seth felt sick imagining what might have happened the night before. He stood up and came towards her.

Summer saw the concerned look on Seth's face and quickly gave him a huge smile. "Good morning, Cohen!", she chimed. Seth stopped on his way over to her. He knew that reaction only too well. Once again, Summer tried to deny that something was going on.  
"Morning. You okay? What happened to your lip?", Seth asked, examining her beautiful face.  
Summer smiled broadly. "Oh, nothing," she struggled a moment to find her words, "I fell. Stupid me. Had one of my rage blackouts, and bang!" Summer laughed insecurely. She paused a moment to see if he was believing her.  
"Listen, I just wanted to ask how many copies of 'Atomic County' should be put on the next edition. The publisher called yesterday and I forgot to ask you then."  
Never in a million years Summer would have thought that she actually would work for a comic book company, let alone for Seth Cohen, but right after college, when her whole world started to fall apart, and she didn't know where to turn, Seth took her in as one of his assistants, and since that day Summer officially worked in comic book business.  
"Those comic book geeks are totally freaking me out.", she joked, trying her best to hide her feelings.  
Seth could take a hint when it was given to him. "Tell them we'll go with another 7,000 copies." Sometimes, the success of his comic book company was unbelievable to him.  
"Great." And with that, Summer left the room.  
For a few moments Seth stood in the doorway and looked after Summer until she was around the corner and out of sight. Lost in thought, he strolled back to his desk, to finally finish the article for the local newspaper.

**Chapter 2  
**  
During her lunch break, Summer went over the street to Marissa's fashion store, "The Coop". After having a very stressful week, Marissa agreed to have lunch with her best friend today. They didn't see each other very often these days, so that was the least she could do. And above all, Marissa sensed that something weird was going on with Summer for some time now, and she made it her aim to find out what was bothering her.  
When Summer entered the store, she saw Madison Baker, Seth's girlfriend, standing behind the counter, looking through some of the store's orders. The tall blonde was so focused on her work that she didn't hear Summer coming in. Only when Summer cleared her throat, she looked up and smiled at her.  
"Hey, Summer," she greeted her friendly. "You looking for Marissa?"  
Summer smiled back. "Yeah, we were supposed to have lunch together," Summer answered. She didn't really know how to feel about Madison. On the one hand, she was a real kind and sweet person, on the other hand Summer had the slight feeling that Madison didn't like her, and she could only guess why. Madison knew that Summer had always been Seth's first and probably one love, and the two of them working together seemed not to make her happy.  
Just when Madison was about to go and get Marissa, the same entered the room from the repository.  
First she waved at Summer, and when she saw what happened to her lip, her smile froze. "Hey, Sum," she said, a concerned look on her face. "What happened to…"  
"My lip? Yeah, I guess I was too hungry at breakfast," Summer lied, laughing insecurely. „So, Coop, are you ready to go?"  
Marissa nodded and told Madison that she'd be back in one hour.

The two girls had lunch at their favorite café, "The Bluebird", which was only five minutes away from Marissa's fashion store.   
Being with Marissa made Summer always feel like she was seventeen again, when they had had the best days of their lives. When she was with her best friend, Summer could almost forget what a mess her life really was.  
Right after their general chatter, they went on to their boyfriends. Or at least Marissa did.  
She picked in her salad with her fork, a dreamy look in her eyes. "I can't believe he has been away for only two days," she complained, "to me, it feels like an eternity."  
Summer smiled. "Well, he makes good money, and he'll be back sooner than you want him to be," she joked.   
Ryan worked as an assistant for an architectural office in Newport Beach, the 'heir' of the Newport Group Kirsten had put up after Caleb's death. And since Ryan's career was just getting started, Marissa and he didn't see much of each other those days. While the two friends were having lunch, Ryan supervised a project in Boston and wasn't expected back for at least three more weeks.   
Summer admired Ryan and Marissa for having managed to stay together as a couple since their Senior Yeat at High School. 'And once again', she thought, 'if it wasn't for Eric, Seth and I would be still together, too.'  
Marissa sighed again and awoke Summer from her daydreaming. "I know," she sadly said. "Well, at least I have you," Marissa added with a smirk in Summer's direction.  
Summer smiled at her and nodded. She had to tell somebody about the baby. And she knew that if she didn't even have the courage to tell Marissa, it was hopeless to think about telling Eric.

So she took a deep breath and started. "I'm pregnant," she said, without warning Marissa that such a huge issue might come up now.  
Marissa just sat there, and her chin dropped. "You are?" she asked unbelievably. From the look on Summer's face she didn't know how to react. "Well, that's great, isn't it?"  
For a moment, Summer was thinking about telling Marissa everything. About her fears, and about how Eric treated her. But for some reason she decided to mimick the happy mother-to-be.  
"Of course, it's fabulous!" she chimed. "Well, the morning sickness is always like… Ew! Plus, I am gonna look like a ton in no time", she added.  
Marissa laughed. "Well, I bet your designer clothes won't fit for a long time!"  
Summer giggled. "Why not? I'm awaiting the day that Chanel's finally gonna bring out a new collection for pregnants. Hey, isn't that sort of a gap in the market for your shop to fill in?"  
Marissa grinned at her. "You might be on to something," she said, "But now tell me: how far along are you? And how did Eric react? He's probably walking on cloud number nine right now, huh?"  
Summer's gaze went to the floor. "I'm almost fourth month," she told her, "And Eric doesn't even know yet. And so doesn't anyone else."  
Marissa couldn't help but notice the look of desperation on Summer's face. She reached over to take Summer's hand. "Hey, Sum, you okay? I mean, Eric's gonna be thrilled when he finds out, won't he?"

Again, the thought of telling Marissa everything crossed Summer's mind. And again, she decided against telling her. She was afraid that everyone who was going to help her might be having the same problems with Eric that she had. And she didn't want to burden anyone with her problems.  
"Well, I suppose," she answered. "But still, you have to promise me that you won't tell anybody, okay?" She started to search her handbag, pulled out a sonogram picture of her unborn baby, and handed it over to Marissa.  
Marissa smiled when she saw the little something that was supposed to be a human being. "Is it a boy or a girl?", she wanted to know.  
Summer smiled. "They don't know for sure, but from all the pictures they've taken so far they think it's gonna be a girl,", she said, this time sounding honestly happy.  
"Sum, as long as you are happy about it, I'm sure everything's gonna be just fine.", Marissa said, trying to encourage her friend.  
Summer nodded sadly. "Well, try and tell Eric that," she mumbled, on the one hand hoping Marissa hadn't heard, on the other hand wishing she had. The latter was the case. Summer could tell from the questioning look on Marissa's face.  
But even before Marissa could react, Summer threw a glance at her watch, decided that it was time to go back to work and didn't give her friend a chance to ask more questions. 

When the girls arrived at "The Coop", Madison was still standing behind the counter, typing on her computer. Again, she looked up and smiled friendly at Marissa and Summer.  
"How was lunch?" she asked.  
"Great!" Marissa and Summer answered unisono, which made them laugh.  
"So, if you want to take your lunch break now, go ahead," Marissa suggested to Madison.  
"Oh, I can take a hint," Madison said, and smiling, like she always did, left the store for some food.  
Marissa went behind the counter and faced her friend. "Are you sure you are ok? You seem very upset." she said.  
Summer rolled her eyes. "God, Coop, what is it with you? I'm just tired. Pregnant stuff. Morning sickness. Mood swings. Get used to it."  
Marissa nodded. Summer could see that her mind was still working. "Hey, I just got the idea… what if we'd have a girl's night out? It seems we didn't have one since High School. Say, on Sunday?" she suggested.  
Now Summer's mind was working. Could she go out without Eric noticing it? 'Well, when he goes off to see one of his whores, I could take a break,' she thought. Usually, it took Eric a couple of hours until he came back from the women he rented. And if she was home like half an hour earlier than him, she could pretend that she was already asleep when he came home.  
"Sounds great!" she finally answered. "Are you picking me up? At say, eight?"  
Marissa smiled. "Sure. Looking forward to it!"  
And after the two of them said their goodbyes, Summer was off to work again, leaving Marissa with her mind working hard behind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 3**

Marissa was not the only one who Summer had left thinking today. Seth still couldn't concentrate on his work, and if he was honest, he didn't want to. Through his glass door, he saw Summer entering the office, obviously just coming back from her lunch break with Marissa.  
That was it! After a short moment of being proud of himself, Seth dialed Marissa's number. She had to know what was bothering her best friend, right?  
After three ringings, the receiver was picked up. "Welcome to 'The Coop', fashion for everyone, you're speaking to Madison Baker," Madison sung into the receiver, trying to sound extra-friendly.  
Seth couldn't help but smile at how exaggerated Madison sounded on the phone every time.  
"Yeah, Seth Cohen speaking here," he started, "I was wondering if you also had Spiderman costumes in your product line. There's a lot of rain predicted and I don't want to get wet." Seth grinned to himself, again proud of the fabulous joke he just had made.  
"Well, I guess you'd have to come by and see if we have anything that suits you… usually we don't have clothes for bean-poles, you know?"  
Seth laughed. "No matter how hard you try, my dear, you're never gonna be as funny as I am. Hey, why I'm calling… is Marissa there?"  
Madison hesitated. "Yeah, but she's very busy… what do you want from her? I mean, can't I help you?", she asked.  
"I guess not. I want to talk about Summer.", Seth explained.  
"Summer." Madison sounded mad. "Why, do you have a flashback to Junior High, does she start to ignore you again?", she snapped.  
Seth lost his patience. It was always the same with Madison, she was jealous like hell, and when it came to Summer, it would have been the best for Seth not to mention her name at all in his girlfriend's presence.  
"Oh, don't start that again, Maddy. Summer's one of my best friends, and I got the impression that she needs me, that's all."  
"Fine. Don't forget, dinner at seven today."  
With a pang, the receiver landed on the counter. Seth shook his head. He couldn't understand Madison's behavior. But on the other hand, she was a woman, so maybe that was the explanation.

After a few moments Marissa picked up. "Seth?", she asked. "What's up?"  
"I don't know, you tell me," Seth answered. "Did you have lunch with Summer today?"  
"Yeah, I did, why?"  
"Did you notice anything strange on her? Or did she tell you what was going on?"  
Marissa left the store where she had picked up the phone and went into her office, so Madison couldn't hear what was about to follow. "You mean her lip? She told me it was an accident, but I don't really believe her."  
"So she made up an excuse. She did the same to me, and I bet to all the others here in the office as well."  
Marissa frowned. "Do you think Eric…. I mean, do you think he hurt her?", she asked carefully.  
"Yeah, it's the only possibility. No one has such a stupid accident, falling over and bruising his lip like that."  
"Exactly what I thought," Marissa answered, "Only… did she tell you she fell? Because she told me she had bit herself at breakfast… but before I could react, she just cut me off and practically drove me out to lunch."  
Seth shifted in his seat. "I'm quite worried about her, if she even didn't tell you what was going on.", he said, his mind working.  
"Oh yeah, well… she told me something." Marissa hesitated. "And maybe everything's better than it seems, and her situation's just a little too much for her." Marissa didn't know if she should tell Seth about Summer's pregnancy, since she made her swear she wouldn't tell anyone.  
"And are you going to tell me or should I just sit here and guess until I find out?", Seth said.  
Marissa hesitated. "Look, she told me not to tell anyone until she was ready. So just give her some time and you'll find out. But if that's any comfort for you, I'm going out with  
her on Sunday night, so maybe she'll tell me a little more about what's bothering her, ok?"  
Seth felt anger rising. "This is so not ok! Why can't you just tell me? I'm worried about her, she's my best friend, and I want her to be happy!" he shouted, making the people passing by in front of his office look at him. He waved at them and smiled. "I'm sorry, I'm totally obsessed by 'The Valley', and I just found out that Carol cheated on John, so that's kind of a letdown."  
Marissa frowned. "Seth, what are you doing over there?" she asked, confused.  
"Making those comic book geeks minding their own business." He answered. "So you are not gonna tell me?"  
Marissa was uncomfortable. "I'm gonna call you on Sunday, when we are home, and I'll tell you if there's anything that should be bothering us, ok?"  
Seth nodded. Realizing that Marissa couldn't see him, he gave his ok and hung up. If nobody wanted to tell him now, all he could do was wait. 

Wouldn't he be leaving at all tonight? It was seven thirty, and usually Eric went out at seven, and returned shortly after midnight. Summer was nervous. Eric mustn't find out that Marissa was coming over, let alone that she was going to go out. She stood in the kitchen, washing the dishes, and glanced over to Eric, sitting on the couch in the living room, where he was watching some old cowboy movie, having his sixth or seventh beer tonight.

Seven thirty-two. She had to get him out of the house, and if that didn't work, she had to make up some silly excuse to Marissa why she couldn't be going tonight. She looked down on her belly, which slightly started to become rounder every day. And she had to tell Eric about this. How could she have allowed that her life had become such a mess?

Finally, Eric stood up from the couch and came into the kitchen. Summer stared at him, waiting for him to say something. He had the prettiest blue eyes she had ever seen. They were one of the reasons that made her do the terrible mistake of cheating on Seth years ago. Eric had been kind, sweet, and such a gentleman. Not even the strongest woman on the planet would have been able to resist him. He didn't hurt her all the time. It started when he lost his job as a journalist, something he had loved and been all passionate about. He had to get another job, and since he was working at the gas station, he seemed all changed and unhappy with his life. Worst of all, he let the frustration he had out on Summer. And now, if something didn't go the way he wanted, he became violent, because that gave him control about things.

"I'm off now," he said, putting his empty beer bottle beside her. "And I need more of these."  
Summer nodded. What had happened to Eric? She had never seen a man more change in such a short time. He was threatening to kill her if she ever told somebody that he became violent sometimes. So she kept her mouth shut, partly because she hoped that some day, Eric might change and become his old self again.

When she heard the door closing, she quickly washed up the rest of the dishes and went into the bedroom to change. Her lip had lost its evidence, so just a little bit of powder might be able to hide it today.  
She put on a nice blue dress, made her hair hang loose down her slim shoulders and put on a little touch of make-up. Just when she was finished, Marissa blowed her horn, to show her she was there. Summer smiled at herself in the mirror. "This is who I am", she said happily. Grabbing her purse, she left the house as fast as she could.

Just a few seconds later, Summer hopped into Marissa's car. "Hey, Coop! So where are we going?"  
Marissa smiled. "I don't know, some place nice, where we can talk. Like, 'The Seven Eleven'?" she suggested.  
"Sounds good to me", Summer agreed, and before she could put on her safety belt, the two girls were off in a night of girl fun and talk.

**Chapter 4**

Summer hadn't felt that good in a very long time. The two friends started their evening in their favorite bar for some coffee and non-alcoholic cocktails. After that, they went to the "Hot Tub", the club that was put into the old property of the "Bait Shop", which had to close down a few years ago. After a new owner had bought the property and had given it a new face, the club was the hippest scene in whole Newport Beach – without being too Newpsie-style.

Marissa and Summer talked about everything, and most of the time, they laughed even louder than the music was.  
Suddenly, Summer saw Seth and Madison enter the club and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Marissa noticed that and grinned.  
"Hey, you are nervous when you see Seth enter the room! Do you have, like, a crush on him?", she asked, sounding very teasing.  
Summer rolled her eyes. "What, Coop? Oh my God, why are you saying a thing like that?", she said, blushing and punching her slightly in her arm. Marissa had no idea how much she still loved Seth. How much she had always loved him.   
Marissa started to tease her friend even more, like she once had on the yacht party when they were sixteen. "You like him, you like him… you love him!" she sang, very content with herself at the moment.  
Summer put a hand over Marissa's mouth. "Coop, would you please shut up? Everyone can hear you, and you know how much I hate public confessions!"  
Marissa couldn't stop grinning. But at least she had stopped singing songs about puppy love. "Would you like me to climb on a coffee cart and shout it out loud that you love him? I mean, that's what he did twice, so I guess you don't mind if I try,", she giggled.  
Summer looked quite embarrassed, and hoped Marissa wouldn't see what a deep red her face had become. She figured that it was better not to answer Marissa, because then she would eventually become quiet again. Well, at least Seth and Madison had gone to another corner of the club, where they couldn't see them.  
Finally, Marissa became serious again. "Hey Sum, but honestly, are you in love with him?"  
Summer looked on the floor, around her, and did everything to avoid to look at Marissa.  
"Maybe," she answered, her gaze still searching for something she didn't quite know yet.

Marissa's eyes widened twice their normal size. "You aren't!", she shouted, realizing that she had been too loud again. "I mean, I was just kidding before!"  
Summer shrugged. "I wasn't," she answered, finally meeting Marissa's gaze.  
Marissa did her best to take in what her best friend just had confessed to her. "But what about Eric? I mean, you're having his baby!" Marissa was really confused at the moment.  
Summer sighed. "Oh God, Coop, do you really think I would have been together with Eric if I didn't make that stupid mistake that made Seth break up with me?"  
Marissa hesitated. "Well, I don't know. But… don't you think it's a little too late for such huge confessions?"  
"Yeah, of course it is! Or why do you think I'm keeping my feelings for Seth a secret?", Summer replied.  
"I'm sorry, Sum," Marissa apologized. "I can imagine that this might be pretty hard for you."  
Summer nodded. "It is. I'd give anything to get out of my life and go back to who I was before college." She sighed and took a sip of her iced tea.  
Marissa frowned. "So, Sum, is there anything else bothering you? You seem very confused and upset these days.", she asked, trying to find out what was really bothering her friend.  
Summer shook her head. She till being in love with Seth had been enough confessing in one evening. "No, Coop, I'm fine."   
Quickly, she changed the topic on Ryan, which meant she'd have a little time in which she didn't have to speak at all, because once Marissa started to talk about Ryan, nothing could shut her up so soon.

Even though Marissa had been shushed by Summer, their conversation before didn't remain unheard. Madison had been on her way to the toilet when she saw Marissa and Summer sitting in two lounge chairs, deeply in a conversation.  
First, Madison had decided to go over and say hi but as she heard the name Seth, she stopped and overheard the conversation. And she didn't like what she had heard. She didn't like it at all. At least her fear had been confirmed. Summer was still in love with Seth. And she was having Eric's baby? If Seth knew that?  
One thing Madison knew for sure: she'd never be friendly to Summer ever again. Summer had been stupid enough to let Seth go, now she wouldn't get him back.

A few hours later, when Marissa talked about her store and how things in the fashion industry were going, Summer glanced at her watch every ten seconds. If they didn't leave now, she would be home too late. And that meant that Eric was gonna become very angry at her. She couldn't wait until Marissa was finished, so she just grabbed her at the arm and pulled her out of the chair. "Okay, Coop, let's go, I'm tired. Let's go home!"  
And without Marissa being able to resist, they made their way out of the "Hot Tub", Summer pulling Marissa after her. At the exit, Marissa's gaze met Seth's, who was still sitting at a table with Madison and some of their friends.  
Seth gave Marissa a look that asked if she found out anything.  
Marissa slightly shook her head, and made him understand she'd call him.  
Seth nodded and payed back his attention to the conversation that was going on around him.  
Madison noticed that Seth and Marissa had been exchanging looks and gave Summer the madest look she could manage. She would not give Seth away.

Summer did her best to rush Marissa to bring her home without her best friend noticing. But sometimes Marissa could be really complicated to handle. So she had to stop at the gas station first, and then she had to go to a supermarket and buy some cheese sticks. Summer freaked out more and more as the minutes passed by.  
When the two girls finally arrived at Summer's, it was already half past twelve. Summer didn't see any lights on in the house, so maybe Eric wouldn't be home yet, if she was lucky.  
She quickly said goodbye to Marissa and sneaked into the house. She went to the living room on tiptoes and was glad to see that everything looked like it did when she had left the house. That meant Eric wasn't home yet.  
Unfortunately, Summer didn't check the back door and the kitchen, in which Eric was sitting, his dark gaze follwing Summer's moves. Just when Summer slumped down on the couch, and made herself comfortable, Eric's voice sent a shiver through her and made her jump up again. "So where have we been? Did you at least bring me my beer?", he asked, his voice sounding cold.  
"I-I-I wanted… b-b-but the stores were already closed.", she stuttered.  
Eric's eyes narrowed. "Why don't I believe you? What reasons do you have to sneak in like this? You are always home when I'm out! So where have you been?" He came closer to her, making her shiver.  
Eric stood directly in front of her, a fact that made Summer seem even smaller than she already was. It also made her feel totally helpless, like a little kid standing in front of his father, praying not to be grounded this time.  
Summer couldn't answer. She felt a knot tying in her stomach, which denied her any freedom of speech. She just stared onto the ground, hoping he would calm down.  
"What's that silence? What do you have to hide, huh?" Suddenly, Eric grabbed Summer's wrists and squeezed them tightly. "Do you have a boyfriend? Huh? Do you have a lover?" Impatience sounded through his voice.  
Summer winced. "Eric, please, you're hurting me… don't…"  
"Don't tell me what to do or not! Why should I believe you? You've always been a cheater! You even cheated on that geeky dork Cohen with me!" His hands squeezed even tighter around Summer's wrists.  
She could feel how her hands became cold, and the pain in her wrists increasing any second now. Summer started to cry. "Eric, I didn't…"  
"Shut up, you…" Eric didn't say it, but she knew what word was on his mind. He gave her wrists a final squeeze of incredible strenght and eventually let them go.   
Summer ducked down, falling on the couch, hiding her face in her hands. Eric made his way out again, slamming the front door shut behind him.  
When Summer was sure that Eric was really gone, she started to weep into the pillows, feeling like the lonliest person in the world.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 5**

Madison and Seth sat at the breakfast table in their penthouse apartment which gave an amazing view over Newport Beach and the ocean behind it, both reading the morning newspapers, when the telephone rang.  
Madison jumped up and smiled. "I'll get it, honey!"  
Seth shrugged and turned his attention back to the newspaper.  
"Hello, Madison Baker, " she identified herself at the phone.  
"Hey, Maddy, it's me. Can I talk to Seth, please?" Marissa was on the other end, wanting to tell Seth what had happened last night. Or at least the things he needed to know.  
"Hey, what is it about me, doesn't anyone want anything from me anymore?", Madison asked, making a pout.  
Marissa laughed. "Of course I do. But I'll see you at work, so I won't spoil any hot weekend details for us. I mean, what else are we gonna talk about during coffee break?", she joked.  
Madison smiled. "You're right, I'll get him. What's it about?"  
"Oh, just a little something about Summer, nothing spectacular." Marissa tried to sound casual, not knowing that Madison had overheard hers and Summer's conversation last night at the club.  
"Summer?" Madison's brains were working now. Marissa wouldn't dare telling Seth that Summer was still in love with him, right? Or what if she did? Why couldn't that small brunette finally get out of Seth's life? "Oh, you know what, I think he just left. Maybe you'll try him later."  
Marissa was sceptical. "But you just said that you'd get him. Since when does he leave without saying goodbye to you?"  
"Well he did, I can't change it, okay? See you at work!"  
And with that, Madison banged the receiver down.  
Summer wasn't Seth's business anymore.

When Madison returned, Seth was already standing in the doorway, ready to leave for work.  
"Who was it?" he wanted to know.  
Madison shrugged. „Wrong number or something. Too stupid to read the phone book."  
Seth nodded. "Okay, so I'm gonna be off now… are you sure it was a wrong number? You had a very long conversation for a wrong number."  
"Yeah it was. Why is it even bothering you?", Madison snapped.  
Seth held up his hands in apologize. "Geez, what is it with you these days? You know what, calm down, and I'll go now." With those words, Seth left Madison in the kitchen, burning out of anger.

When Seth was in his car, he turned on his headsets and dialed Marissa's cellphone number.  
After Marissa had picked up, he asked: "Did you just call at my house?"  
"Hey Seth, good morning to you, too. Yeah I did, Maddy told me you were already off for work."  
Seth sighed. "Well, I wasn't. You know, Madison's extremely jealous, especially when it comes to Summer.", he explained.  
"Oh, now I get it. Well, I'm sorry for that."  
"No worries. So, did she tell you anything yesterday?"  
"Not really. She just kept telling me that she's fine. That's all I could get out of her."  
Seth frowned. That was all he got from her, too. "There's gotta be something else, Marissa. Summer's never been that weird. Okay, maybe a little, but not THAT weird."  
"And that coming from you… But I know what you mean…" Marissa thought about telling Seth about Summer's pregnancy. At least he wouldn't have to worry that much then. But then she had promised her best friend to keep her secret. So she decided to give him a little quiz. "Well, there's something on the way, but I'm not supposed to tell you, so why don't you ask her yourself?"  
"Aaah, always that girly stuff kind of thing! Can't you just tell me what's going on?" Seth got angry again. He could speak in riddles, too, all the time, if he wanted, but that was just not the right moment for it.  
"I'm sorry, I promised her. And I don't break promises."  
Seth sighed again. Well, if Marissa didn't want to tell him, he had to find out otherwise. "Okay then. I'll find out. But don't come crying to me when she tells me more than she told you."  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Nothing, I just wanna speak in strange, mysterious riddles, too. So, see you. And thanks nevertheless."  
"No problem, Cohen. Bye."  
Seth nodded to himself. "I've always been the brains. Marissa may be the beauty, Ryan may be the brawns, but my brains are unbeatable.", he mumbled, pulling over into the parking lot of his comic book company.

This week, Seth's company had very much work to do, since there was a new comic book published. There wasn't even time for taking breaks, a thing that Summer welcomed since then, people wouldn't have enough time to talk about her and her mysterious private life.

But as much as work took Summer's mind off Eric, it didn't prevent that her pregnancy was going on very fast, and that even her belly started to grow. She knew that during the next few days, she had to tell Eric, because she didn't dare to imagine what he would do if he found out otherwise. Last night was proof enough that Eric was crazy.

This Monday, the office was crowded with different publishers and their marketing assistants,  
and Seth felt as if he didn't even have the time to breath anymore. Yet he had still enough time to think about Summer. Even though Marissa had told him that Summer seemed to be fine, he didn't quite believe it. And he was still bothered about "the thing" he should find out himself.

Without being able to think all the options through, Amber, one of Seth's assistants, rushed into his office and handed him a huge stack of papers.  
"Hey boss, these need to be read and approved in one hour. Need to copy them and hand them out to the publishers." Amber explained and left the room before Seth could even answer, or make somebody else do the work he didn't want to do right now.  
So Seth had no other choice than to read what had been given to him. Unfortunately, he couldn't concentrate for more than one word, because his mind went off to Summer again, wondering what was going on with her.

Suddenly, Summer stood in Seth's office and smiled at him. 'The sad smile she always manages when she sees me', Seth thought.  
"Hey Cohen, I need the finances for the new comic, are they in here somewhere? Amber told me they might," she explained, her gaze searching for anything that looked like what she was searching for.   
"Yeah, they might be on one of those shelves," Seth said, pointing out to some shelves that were situated right next to his desk.  
"Thanks." Summer walked over to the shelves. After a few seconds she spotted the financial folders of CC. Since they were on the top of the shelf in front of which she was standing, she had to stretch to reach them. "Damn it, too small for that stupid shelf!" she cursed. When her wirsts were revealed from her pullover, Seth couldn't believe his eyes.

Suddenly, Summer twirled around and smiled. "Cohen?" she asked, trying to get Seth's help.  
Seth got up to help her, but he was still shocked by what he had seen around Summer's wrists. Dark red and blue bruises circled them. It almost looked like someone had squeezed them incredibly tight. Could Eric really be able to do a thing like that?  
Seth went over to Summer, and before she knew what was going on, he rolled up her right sleeve and held her hurt wrist up. "How did this happen?" he asked, his eyes never leaving Summer's, almost forcing her to admit what he already had feared.  
Summer pulled her wrist out of Seth's grip and looked down to the floor. "Nothing," she plainly answered, ashamed. How could she be so stupid to let her bruises show?  
Seth breathed heavily. "Is he hurting you? Is that where the bruise on your lip came from?" Why didn't Summer just tell him the truth? Off all people in her life, he wanted her to see that he was the one she could trust completely.   
Summer blushed. "He didn't mean to," she whispered, "And besides, it was my fault."  
Seth sensed how scared she suddenly was. On the one hand, he felt so much sympathy and love for her that he couldn't imagine how any guy didn't know what he had in Summer, and on the other hand he sensed the rage coming up in him, making him want to hurt Eric for what he had done to that beautiful girl standing in front of him.  
Summer quickly realized she had told Seth too much. She reached up to the shelf, managed to get the folder down and looked at him. "Seth," she said, "this looks worse than it is. Don't get too upset about it," she took his hand, stroking it gently with her thumb. "And promise me you won't interfere in my issues, ok?"  
Seth forced himself to calm down. He pulled his hand out of Summer's, looking her in her wonderful dark brown eyes. "If anything like this ever happens again, I swear to God Eric's gonna pay.", he said, hatred swinging in his voice.  
Summer took a step back, content that Seth didn't seem to want to do anything about it. "Nothing will ever happen again," she confirmed, "Eric didn't mean to do a thing like that."

Suddenly, Summer was not able to stand the situation anymore, and she turned on her heels, leaving Seth's office as fast as she could. She felt tears coming up and ran to the bathrooms, where she locked herself in one of the cabins and began to sob uncontrollably.  
"Oh how I wish I could tell you," she sobbed, "How I wish you could help me out of this…"  
But she was too scared to admit – Eric had made it only too clear last night what was going to happen if she told anyone what was going on between the two of them.

**Chapter 6**

Later that day, when Summer was on her way home, she recalled the situation she had had with Seth earlier that day. He knew way too much, without the need that she had to tell him. He knew by just looking at her what was going on. She needed to tell someone. She longed for love, respect and most of all, dignity. And if she couldn't tell Seth, then who could she tell?  
Shortly before arriving at home, Summer came to the decision that she had to tell Seth the truth. She couldn't go on like this, inventing stupid excuses that nobody believed in, and being afraid every second that she was at home. Summer hit the breaks and manouvred her car to the side of the road, where she started searching for her cell phone and dialed Seth's number.  
Beep. Beep. Beep.  
Summer bit her lip. Why didn't he answer?  
Beep. Beep. Beep.  
"Please, answer" she mumbled. She really needed Seth right now, so why didn't he just pick up?  
Beep. Beep. "Seth Cohen?"  
Summer sighed with relief. "Cohen, it's me." She said, sounding more serious than ususal.  
"Summer? Is everyhting alright?"  
At first, Summer hesitated to answer. "Um… honestly, no. I need to talk to you. Tell you something really important."  
"Okay, do you wanna meet for dinner?"  
Dinner. That meant at, like seven? After what had happened on the weekend, Summer didn't think she could afford lying to Eric again. What was she thinking? It was even impossible for her to talk to her friends with that monster she had to live with. But she had only this single choice, and she needed to take it now.  
"Summer? Are you still there?"  
"Yeah, Cohen, still there. Let's say, seven? At 'Al Forno's'?"  
"Sounds great. See you then."  
Summer put down the receiver. Her heart started to beat faster, because even the mere thought of selling Eric out like this scared the hell out of her. Slowly, she drove back on the street again, making her way home. 

When Summer parked her car in front of the house, she could see that Eric was already home. That didn't mean anything good. Her heart started to pound faster, and her steps towards the house became slower. When she was halfway to the front door, she saw it fling open, a furiated Eric standing in the doorway. The look in his eyes made her shiver.  
"Come on in, you bitch!", he yelled, not caring about the two neighbor girls who were playing in the garden.  
With each step Summer took now, her chest felt like exploding. He couldn't have found out about the baby, could he? Slowly, she walked up to him, walking past him in the house. Maybe if she tried to sound casual he would calm down a bit. "What's wrong?" she asked with the most innocent tone she could manage.   
Slap. The first one hit her right into her left eye. Summer ducked down and sheltered her face with her hands. "What did I do?" she cried, afraid that he was going to go on.  
Suddenly, he grabbed one of her wounded wrists, squeezing it with more power than the day before.  
Summer was scared to death. Her heart was racing, her head was spinning, and tears streamt down her face.  
Suddenly, Eric pulled out a sonogram picture and waved with it in front of her face. "I found this in your nightstand," he said, a brutal look on his face. Sending another hard slap on her face, he screamed. "I knew you had an affair! This brat can't be mine!"  
Summer took a few steps back, a terrified look on her face. "No, Eric…"  
"Don't you dare saying a word! I know you've been seeing another guy! Once a cheater, always a cheater!"  
Summer cried uncontrollably. "Please, don't…" Another punch hit her chin, the next slap hit her right shoulder. She felt the adrenaline pouring through her veins, the fear of death becoming more vivid with every second that passed. She knew she had to do something, otherwise Eric would kill her and the baby.

Suddenly, Eric came running towards her, pushing her with her back onto the wall, taking hold of her two wrists. She was trapped.  
Eric's face neared hers. Summer could feel his breath. In her mouth, she felt the disgusting taste of blood coming up. Her eye was all bloody and blurry, and she wasn't able to see with it anymore. How she hated him. She needed to act right now. This was her last chance.  
Just when Eric was about to force himself on her, she kicked him where it hurts a man the most. Whining, Eric went down to the floor. Summer used the chance, and ran towards the door as fast as she could, hurrying towars her car to escape this nightmare.  
When Summer was halfway to the car, Eric got up on his feet again and started to chase after her, his speed twice than hers.  
Terrified, Summer looked back and almost fell over a branch that lay in the garden. Crying out as loud as she could, she ran for her life and made it for the driver's door. She was shaking uncontrollably and had trouble to put the key into the engine. When she looked out of the window, she saw Eric had almost reached the car.  
Just in time, she was able to make the car start, and without looking back, she pulled out of her parking space with screaming tires, crying and bleeding. There was only one person she could turn to right now.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 7**

Madison just had put the potatoe casserole in the oven when Seth came back from work. He threw his jacket and briefcase on the couch, went over to her and kissed her half-heartely on the cheek.  
"Hello, you. How was your day?" he asked, sitting down at the kitchen table, seeing through a stack of letters that had arrived with the mail that day.  
"It was ok." Madison answered, her attention focused on the food and the temperature of the oven. "I hope you're hungry, cuz I think I've made enough to feed a whole company with it."  
It was only then when Seth realized the smell of food that filled the place. When he saw that Madison had been preparing a whole meal, he sighed. "Actually, I'm having dinner elsewhere", he admitted.  
Madison seemed to be disappointed. She first looked at her food, then at Seth, waiting for him to explain the situation. She put one hand in her hip and stared at him with her typical pout.   
Seth hesitated to tell Madison the truth, because he knew too well how his girlfriend reacted to his best friend. But lying wasn't in his nature, so he went for the truth. "Summer asked me to eat with her. She needed to tell me something important."  
When the name Summer filled the room, Madison's chin dropped and her eyebrows went up. A unnerved "what?" was all she could manage to say.  
Seth stood up and went over to her. He put one hand on her shoulder and put a strand of Madison's blonde hair behind her ear. "There's nothing to worry about," he assured her, "she's just a friend, and she's in trouble. All I do is listen."  
Madison sighed. She turned away from him, facing the potatoe casserole in the oven. "Well, I guess I can't stop you," she said, wishing his mind would maybe change.  
Seth smiled and kissed her. "Thank you." he answered. "I promise you, we'll have dinner tomorrow. I'll cook. And I apologize beforehand for the bad cooking skills I have heired from my mom."  
Now Madison couldn't help but smile. Seth had always been a charmer, and she could never be mad at him for more than five minutes. Lovingly, she stroke his cheek. "Whatever you do, I'll survive," she joked.

Just when the two of them started to kiss again, there was an urgent knock on the front door, accompagnied by dull sobs.  
Both Seth and Madison looked to the door, wondering what was going on out there. Seth frowned and let go of Madison, running over to the door. When he reached it, the knocking had stopped, but the sobs began to increase. "Who is there?" he carefully asked.  
"Cohen, it's me!" Summer's voice came through the door, sounding scared to an amount Seth had never heard before.  
When Madison recognized Summer's voice, her good mood dropped and she turned around to face her food once again.  
Seth flung the door open and couldn't believe his eyes. There was his beautiful Summer standing in front of him, trembling, her eyes thick from crying, blood running down all over her face, her clothes stained by some of it as it had fallen down. His first reaction was to lay an arm around Summer and guide her into the living room. He was still speechless, not able to say anything since he was still shocked by what he had to see. This time, Eric had moved on her very hard. An incredible anger came up in him, and the urge to punish Eric the same way back rose by every second that passed.  
But he tried his best to stay calm. One of them needed to be. "Did he do that?" he asked, already knowing the answer.  
Summer started to tremble even more and nodded.  
Seth took a deep breath to kill some of the anger that had risen in him. "We need to call the police," he said, his hand moving for the telephone. Before he reached it, Summer grabbed his hand and pulled it back. "Please, don't," she whispered, more tears coming down her face.  
This time, Seth remained stubborn. "Yes, I will." He said in a tone that didn't allow any more words. And before Summer could react again, he was already dialing the police's number.

When Madison heard Summer's cries and Seth's raged voice, she peeked out into the living room and she was shocked. She came running over to them, sitting next to Summer on the couch. Tears were in her eyes as she was confronted with the brutality Eric had used on Summer. She didn't like the girl but what had happened there was simply unacceptable. Softly, Madison stroked Summer's hair, trying her best to comfort her while Seth was talking to the police. "It's gonna be ok." She whispered. "You're safe here."  
Summer only nodded, the shaking of her body and the tears that were still running down her cheeks not allowing her to answer.  
After Madison had taken a short look at Summer's wounds, she stood up again. "I'm gonna get something to clean your wounds," she announced, disappearing into the kitchen again.  
When she returned she saw Seth sitting on the couch again, holding Summer's hand and trying to stop her crying. She sat with them, holding up the cloths she had fetched to wash away some of the blood on Summer's face. When she touched her wounds, Summer whinced. She gently pushed Madison's hand away from her face.  
"Can I use the bathroom?" she asked, trying to gain some of her stability again. Madison and Seth nodded in unision.

When Summer had disappeared into the bathroom on shaky legs, Seth faced Madison to tell her what the police had been saying. They wanted them to come over to give evidence about the crime, and another part of the staff was already on their way to track down Eric and lock him into remand.  
Madison nodded. "That's a good thing", she said. "But before we go there, she needs to see a doctor."  
Seth sighed, making two fists. "You can't believe how furious I am. How can a man do such a thing? He should be punished for it, really really hard."  
Madison touched his arm. "He will." She assured him. When Seth pulled his arms away from her touch, Madison was quite confused.  
"You don't get it", Seth yelled, letting all of his anger go. "When I say he should be punished really hard, I mean that I'm going to break all the bones in his body, to make sure he'll never ever dare to look at her."  
Madison nodded again. "I know, but you need to let the police handle this. You're no use for her if you get violent, too." She explained, hoping to calm him down a bit.  
Seth shook his head in a 'you-don't-understand-me'-manner and stood up. And in the exact contrary he had just yelled at her, he softly knocked on the bathroom door, checking for Summer. "Are you ready?" he asked in his kindest voice. "We need to see a doctor before we'll go to the police station."  
Just when he had finished the question, the bathroom door opened, and an extremely disshelved Summer stood in the doorway. "I'm ready," she said in a trembling voice. Seth lay an arm around her and guided her towards the door. "Don't stay up, it's gonna be late," he said to Madison.  
And with that, Summer and Seth disappeared, leaving Madison behind. She wiped away a tear that had appeared in her eyes, and made her way back to the kitchen. She didn't understand why Seth was being so harsh on her. She had tried to get along with Summer, and she really wanted to help her.  
Madison laughed bitterly. "Face it, Madison Baker," she told herself. "You'll never be able to cope with precious Summer."


	5. Chapter 5

**So here's chapter 8 of "I Belong To You"! **

**I'm so happy that you liked my story so far and thanks a million for everybody who reviewed until now! Please keep reviewing, it really means a lot to me!**

**I hope you'll this chapter as well, I'm leaving you with a cliffhanger here ;)**

**Steffi**

**Chapter 8**

When Seth woke up the next morning, he saw that Madison's side of the bed was already empty. Sleepy, he got off the bed and walked through the apartment, searching for his girlfriend but not wanting to wake Summer. In the kitchen he found a small note from Madison, saying that she had a lot of work to do and needed to work longer than usual, which was a strange thing because Marissa always closed the shop at six, every day. There had never been the need to work overtime.  
Seth rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the last bits of sleep and the exciting night before, and went to brew himself some coffee. While the water was pouring down the machine, he stepped onto the balcony and inhaled deeply. When he opened his eyes, he could see how the ocean came to life for the day. The sun shone already bright above Newport Beach, feeling warm and relaxing to his skin.

Little by little, every piece of the night before went through his mind again. First Summer's appereance at his apartment and the incredible bad shape she had been in, his fight with Madison, the examination in the emergency room, the tons of questions by a social worker Summer had to answer… then the visit at the police station, where Summer had to relive her nightmare all over again, telling every little detail of the beating from last night and the beatings that had been happening all the years before. 

And last but not least, the long talk he and Summer had had when they arrived home at 2 a.m. Summer had told him everything, all the things that had been going on in her mind since the day her father had died, everything about Eric and what an idiot he had turned out to be, and most of all, about the baby she was going to have. She told him that Eric had found the sonogram and had assumed that she had an affair, and that that was the reason why he had been so hard on her this time. All this talking had made Seth thinking. All the years, he had thought that Summer was his best friend and that they knew everything about each other, but out of all the things she had told him last night, he realized he didn't even know her at all.

The only good thing about it all was that Eric had been caught only twenty minutes after Seth had informed the police. He had not only been brutal, but also stupid enough to stay at home in front of the tv after Summer had escaped. Eric was now sitting in remand, waiting for the trial he deserved. Only thinking about everything that happened the night before made Seth feel exhausted. But it made also clear that he'd never let anything going to happen to Summer ever again.

Seth breathed the warm air in and wondered if it was true that Madison really was at work. She kept behaving strange every day. And now, since last night, as Summer had appeared, she was even more strange. Seth shook his head and abolished all thoughts about Madison. He needed to talk to her when she was back from wherever she had gone.

As he walked back inside, he saw a very weary Summer standing in the kitchen door, watching him with a weak smile on her face. Seth couldn't help but notice the soft look she gave him.  
He smiled back. "Morning. How you feelin'?", he kindly asked, coming over to her.  
Summer sighed and wrapped her white satin Bademantel around her. "Not so good," she honestly answered, "Everything hurts."  
Seth gave her a concerned look and examined Summer's facial wounds. Her face was swollen and brightly colored from all the bruises she had.   
Summer noticed Seth's concerned look and had to smile despite her pain. How could a person have just got out of bed and look so handsome at the same time?  
She studied his face hard, trying to figure out what he was thinking. When his hand moved to her cheek, stroking it to check further on the bruises, the touch sent a shiver down her spine. Not one of those bad shivers she had when Eric touched her, but one that made her feel very comfortable and warm inside. Summer couldn't believe how much she loved him. With that thought, she blushed immediately and turned her face away.  
"It's okay," she said shyly, "it'll be gone in a few days." And more silently, she added, "I'll never forget what you've done for me. I owe you so much…"  
Seth shook his head. "I'd do anything for you, and you know you don't owe me anything." He said kindly. "But I think you should see the doctor again today," he added, his look still concerned.  
Summer nodded. "I will. But…"  
Seth bent his head. "But?"  
Summer hesitated to answer, because she was afraid that what she had to say might have sounded stupid.  
"Hey, Summer, you can tell me. What's the matter?"  
Summer shifted from one foot the the other. "I don't wanna go alone. I'm still kind of scared that he might appear somewhere. I know, that that's not possible, but still…"  
Seth smiled. "Did you really think you'd have to go through this alone?" He took her hand and gently squeezed it.  
Summer smiled back.  
For a moment, both of them just stood there and looked at each other. Summer could feel the sparks in the air. She wondered if he was feeling it, too? Only when she noticed that he was stroking his hand with her thumb, she quickly pulled her hand away. What was she thinking? He had a girlfriend! But the longer she looked at him, the bigger became the longing she felt for him. Or was she just attracted to him because he was the one who had rescued her?  
Finally, Seth turned around to see if the coffee was already done. He held the can up in the air. "You want any? Wakes you up," he said with a smirk.  
Summer shook her head and patted on her belly, which could be seen only if you knew it was there. "Can't, Cohen." She answered, smiling. But I'll take a milk, if you don't mind."  
Of course Seth didn't mind.

Over breakfast, Seth could see that Summer wasn't feeling well and that she was still scared. Besides her bruises, she looked very pale, and her mind seemed to be anywhere else, far away. He did the best to cheer her up, and when she went to take a shower, he came up with - what he thought to be - the greatest plan ever.  
After cleaning up the kitchen, Seth sat on the couch in the living room, reading the newspaper, and enjoying the fact that he had a whole week without work in front of him. He had taken a week off just to be there for Summer – and since the company was all his, this wasn't a problem. The only thing that was still bothering him was Madison and where she might have gone. She couldn't be at Marissa's, because Ryan was supposed to be arriving from Boston today, so the two of them would probably hang out – and moreover – make out all day. Again Seth didn't bother to think the thought through, and he didn't even have the time to, because Summer came out of the bathroom, her beautiful dark hair hanging loose around her slim shoulders. Since her top from yesterday had been sprinkled with blood, she wore one of Seth's t-shirts and jogging pants, in which she looked even more fragile than she already was.  
Amazed by her beauty, Seth couldn't react for what seemed an age.  
When Summer smiled and walked up to him, he felt the love for her, the love he had never stopped feeling. Slowly, he regained his consciousness. "That shirt looks cute on you," he managed to say, still feeling extremely attracted to her.  
Summer smiled. "I know," she said, giving Seth a smirk. Then her gaze went out of the window, her face seeming stiff.  
Seth tried to lighten up the mood and wanted to present Summer his amazing plan for the day. He sat up straight. "Hey, I've got the greatest idea for today. First, we're gonna see the doctor. Okay, that's maybe not the greatest thing we could do, but it'll be like the icebreaker. And after that, we have lunch on the pier, charter a boat and sail around, relax in the sun, and just let all the sorrow behind us. What do you think?" He waited impatiently for her answer. To his disappointment, Summer didn't smile.  
He could only see that her face had become even harder than before. She seemed to be concentrating on something. Closing her eyes, she said, "I don't feel well, Cohen." One hand went to her belly, and she made a fist.

Summer knew that there was something really wrong going on with her. Seth went on without noticing. "No, come on, this is gonna be so much fun! Just you and me, maybe we could go see Ryan and Marissa, make the Fantastic Four becoming fantastic again!", he chimed.  
Summer shook her head, her breathing becoming heavier, and the color draining from her face. "Cohen, I'm serious, I don't feel well," she said, and before she could continue, a terrible pain came flushing through her body, making her whince. "Ou… oh God…" was all she could manage to say. With every second that passed, the pain became heavier, making her mind go numb. She couldn't concentrate on anything else.  
Suddenly, she felt Seth reacting to the situation. He lay his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her. "Hey, Summer, what's wrong?" He sounded concerned.   
Summer couldn't answer at first, the only reaction she showed was to curl up on the couch, breathing heavily, and hoping that terrible pain would go away.  
Seth grew more and more anxious the longer he saw Summer lying on the couch, whincing and moaning. When she didn't answer, he became really scared and shook her slightly. "Summer, tell me, what's wrong? What is going on?"  
Finally, Summer could manage to say a few words. "It hurts so bad… the baby… Cohen…"  
Eventually, Seth understood what was going on. He jumped off the couch to call an ambulance, decided they would take too long, ran over to the couch again and softly lifted Summer up. "I'm taking you to the hospital, everything's gonna be fine…" he whispered in her ear. And when he saw the blood stains on the couch and on her pants he knew what was going on, but still, he confirmed, "You're gonna be fine…"  
Without locking the door, Seth left the apartment with a whincing Summer in his arms, hoping they wouldn't be at all too late.


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey everybody!_

_Thanks so much for your reviews on my last chapter! _

_So here's the solution of the baby storyline… I hope you like it, and if you read, please review and tell me what was good or not so good._

_And sorry I forgot about the spacing, I tried to change it today, and I hope it's better to read now :)_

_Steffi_

**Chapter 9**

There were voices. Many voices, all talking different things she didn't understand. Through her closed eyes, she could see that there was a bright light shining over her. What had happened? And where was she? She didn't feel strong enough to open her eyes and check. The door was closed, and it became quiet. Where the hell was she? Taking a deep breath, Summer opened her eyes, looking directly in Seth's dark brown eyes who were watching her with concern. At first, Summer didn't realize where she was and what she was doing there.

When Seth saw that she had woken up, he took her hand a kissed it. "Hello, you." he greeted her. "How are you?"  
Summer looked around her. Oh no. She was in a hospital. So this wasn't a dream. It had all happened – her screwed up life after college, Eric, the beatings, the baby… the baby? Suddenly, she remembered the terrible pain that had come to her body this morning, and her eyes were searching Seth's. She needed to know what was going on with her baby.

Seth seemed to have read Summer's mind. He sadly looked away. "About the baby…" he whispered, not daring to say it.  
Summer felt fear rising in her. This was not happening. Of all bad things, please not this. Her eyes became bigger, begging Seth to tell her the truth.  
Seth sighed, closed his eyes, and after opening it, looked straight in hers. He didn't need to say something now – she already knew.  
Summer felt her eyes filling with tears. "No…" she whispered, "that's not fair!" Now the tears started to roll down her pretty face. One hand went down to her belly, feeling if the doctors were maybe wrong and the life she had carried in her was still present. But when Seth started stroking her hand, and answered "I know", she knew it was over.

Suddenly, Summer couldn't help but sobbing uncontrollably, rolling to her side, and burying her face in Seth's strong arms. "That's not fair!", she cried. Seth wrapped his arms around her as best as he could, and tried to comfort her. "It isn't," he answered, knowing that just being there was the best he could do right now.

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A few hours later, Seth had left to let Summer get some rest. But even if she tried as hard as she could, the last thing she was able to do now was to sleep. Her head was spinning, almost every part of her body was aching, and she could not believe all the things that had happened so fast and in such a huge dimension over the last 24 hours. Eric deserved to be locked up in prison for a few years, or better, for ever.

Summer's thinking was interrupted by a soft knock on the door, and she summoned all her strength to sit up.  
Carefully, Marissa's head peeked in. Giving Summer a warm smile, she walked over to her and sat on her bed, taking Summer's hand. At first, none of them said a word, they just stared at each other. That was what best friends did – understanding each other without saying a word.  
Finally, Marissa started to speak. "I wish you had told me." she said. That simple sentence made Summer's tears come up all over again. She buried her head in her hands and did her best to supress her sobs.

Marissa's hand went to Summer's head, stroking her hair gently. She had to fight tears as well. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.  
Summer's head sank back into her pillow, and her gaze went up to the ceiling. "I should have told you… I shouldn't have tried to hide it…"  
"We know now. And we're all here for you, okay? It's over now. You don't have to go through anything on your own… ever."  
Summer nodded and sighed. "It was living hell", she managed to say before she burst into tears all over again.  
Marissa couldn't stand to see her best friend suffering like that. So she gave Summer a hug and tried to comfort her.  
While the girls hugged, Marissa could see a huge bruise on Summer's shoulder, shining in every color of the rainbow. "It's over now," she whispered in Summer's ear. Thank God it was over.

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Madison was sitting on the couch when Seth arrived at home. She was staring at the empty tv screen, and she didn't look at Seth when he sat next to her.  
"Where've you been?" she plainly asked.  
Seth sighed and propped his head into his hands. He had a terrible headache, which was no surprise after all that had happened the last couple of days. "Summer's lost the baby today," he answered.  
Madison nodded. So that's where the blood stains on the couch came from. She felt sorry for Summer, because no matter what she had to do with Seth, she was a sweet girl and she didn't deserve what had happened to her. "How is she?" she asked, honestly wanting to know the answer.  
Seth fell back into the soft pillows of the couch and tried to relax a bit. "She's pretty down, it all hit her very hard… I really don't understand what she did wrong that such a terrible thing must happen to her."  
"Me neither. When is she going to get out of the hospital?"  
"If everything is fine, tomorrow."  
Madison nodded again. At least Summer didn't have to stay in the hospital for long. She took a deep breath and asked, "So… where's she gonna go then? I mean, is she going back to her life?"

Seth couldn't believe his ears. He sat up straight and looked into Madison's pretty face. "What life are you talking about? Everything that was her life has been destroyed in the past 48 hours!"  
Madison raised her hands in apology. "Okay… but where is she gonna stay? Who's gonna take care of her?"  
"We are gonna take care of her until she gets back on her feet. That's the least we can do, the least especially you can do." Seth answered, giving Madison no choice to disapprove of his idea.

Madison stood up from the couch. "What? So you think it's my fault that all that stuff happened to her?", she yelled, the anger visible in her face.  
"I'm not saying it's your fault, I just think you could be a whole lot nicer to her if you wanted to. You always treated her like she was a bad person."  
A shocked laugh escaped her. "Tell me you're joking! The only thing this girl has to do is snip with her fingers, and you're there to help her! And everytime I want something from you, you always make up some stupid apologies. I am your girlfriend, all I want from you is a little attention! And instead of me, it's always she who gets it! So why should I be nice to her when she takes away my boyfriend?"

Now Seth was on his feet, too. "Don't start this again, Maddy. She is not stealing me away from you. She can't stay at Marissa's, cuz Marissa's on her own when Ryan's at work, and what if Eric comes back and finds her? The two girls can't defend themselves. Summer's just my friend, and I wanna be there for her. If it was your friend, you'd do the same thing, right? "  
Madison shook her head. This was unbelievable. "It's so damn obvious that she has never been just your friend, that you can't be just her friend, and you know that as well as I do!"  
"So what are you telling me, that I'm in love with her?"  
Without looking back, Madison made her way to the sleeping room. Just when she was about to close the door, she said in a very calm voice, "Took you a really long time to realize it. I'll make the guest room ready for her." And with that, Madison disappeared into the sleeping room.

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The next day, when Summer was to be released home again, Seth bought two dozens of lillies, Summer's favorite flowers. He needed to do something that would cheer her up, even if Madison didn't approve of it.  
Carefully, Seth knocked on Summer's door and stepped inside to find Summer's bed empty. Seth put the flowers in a vase on her nightstand and went out searching for her. He found Summer standing on the balcony, looking into the distance, slight tears running down her cheeks.  
Seth cleared his throat, afraid that he might frighten her otherwise. Then he went over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Her gaze went down to the floor, and she was fighting more tears that were about to come.  
"Hey, gorgeous," Seth whispered, pulling her close.  
A sad smile crossed Summer's face.

Seth looked down on her, studying her sweet face. "What are you thinking?"  
Summer sighed and shrugged. "I just figured out what a mess my life was." She plainly answered, staring into the distance again. "And I'm wondering what I did wrong that I've been punished like this."  
Seth looked down, too. "You didn't do anything wrong", he assured her. "Things like that happen, even if it might seem unfair."  
A sad laugh went over Summer's face. She looked up to him, her gaze desperate. "I don't have anyone," she said, fighting the tears, "I'm all alone…" She paused, giving the words some time to sink in. "My Dad went way too early, my mother doesn't care a bit about me, my boyfriend treated me like his slave…" A silent sob came out. "…and now I've even lost the baby. I really wanted that baby, you know. It was my last ray of hope…"

Now Summer wasn't able to hold the tears back anymore. Sobbing, she leant into Seth's broad shoulders, letting her emotions run free. How comforting he could be. When she was in his arms, all the bad in the world didn't seem half as bad anymore.  
Seth knew it was best not to say anything, and instead of talking, he just hugged her as tight as he could, trying to take away some of her sorrow. After a long time, when she was about to calm down, he whispered. "You're not alone. You have me. I won't go anywhere."  
Instead of answering, Summer gave Seth a long kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."  
Seth took Summer's hand and smiled at her. "Now, come on. Let's go home."


	7. Chapter 7

_Hello everybody!_

_Chapter 10 up today! Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, please keep reviewing, it's really good to see what people think of the story:)_

_I hope you like it!_

_Steffi_

**Chapter 10**

Summer spent the following weeks at Seth's and Madison's apartment, recovering from everything that had happened to her. She needed to collect some strength and confidence to start a new life again.

It had been over five weeks now since she had lost the baby, and after his trial, which had been a very hard time for Summer because she had to live through her personal nightmare from the beginning again, Eric was put behind bars for at least four years. When that part of the past was over, Summer could finally start looking forward to the future. She had a great job, and most important of all, great friends that cared a lot about her. Even Madison had been nice to her all the time, taking care of her and making sure every second that she was fine. The only thing Summer noticed was that as much the relationship between Madison and her improved, the worse it became between Madison and Seth.

So in December, five weeks after she had moved in with Madison and Seth, Summer decided that maybe it was time to get back on her feet and let the two of them sort things out. And a few days after she had come to this conclusion, Summer was moving into her new apartment, which was not far away from Seth's and Madison's place. Seth had been so supporting all the time, he was always there when she needed him, when she needed somebody to dry her tears or share her fears, and she would never forget that. But now it was time to move on. Fortunately, Summer didn't have much stuff at Seth's place, so the packing went on really good.

It was only a week before Chrismukkah, Seth's favorite holiday in the whole year, and while Summer was packing her stuff, Madison decorated the apartment with loads of Chrismukkah accessoires. It had been a very long time since she had felt so relieved and happy. Now that Summer was to get out of the picture, or at least out of her apartment, things between her and Seth could go to normal again.  
When Seth would be coming home from work, she had prepared a huge dinner for two, and was dressed in her best clothes she could find in her wardrobe. It was only a matter of minutes now before Summer would finally be gone.

At six o'clock, Seth opened the door and entered his apartment. He threw his jacket and bag on the couch table and fell down in one of the two chairs, lying his feet on the table and trying to relax. Just then, Madison came out of the kitchen and stood in the doorway, a seductive look on her face. "Hey, you." She said in a low voice, "Had a hard day?"  
Seth frowned and turned around to see his girlfriend all dressed up. "What's going on with you?" he simply asked.  
Madison's smile faded. What else did she have to do to please him? It took her some time to collect her patience. "You and me are gonna have a romantic dinner for two," she announced. "It's all prepared in the kitchen."  
Seth scratched his head. "Is Summer going out tonight? Or why are we alone?"  
There was the name again, the name Madison had tried to compete with and always seemed to fail. "Did you forget? Summer's moving out today, she's just packing all of her stuff."  
Seth frowned. "Yeah, must've forgotten." Suddenly, he stood up, walking towards Summer's room. "I need to see if I can help her," he announced, and before Madison could say something, her boyfriend had already disappeared.

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Summer was just looking through the wardrobes in her guest room to see if she had forgotten anything when she heard a knock on the door. Her head still in one of the closets, she pled the visitor to come in.  
When she pulled her head out of the wardrobe, Seth stood in her room, pointing out to her only two suitcases. "So that's all you have?" he asked and smiled. They both knew that no matter how long Summer' journeys were, she always had at least six suitcases of baggage with her.  
Summer smiled too and sat on the bed. "Unbelievable, huh?" she replied, „Summer Roberts moving to a new place with only two suitcases. That must be a new world record."  
They laughed at first, but soon, the laughter changed into a stare at each other. Summer couldn't believe how handsome Seth could look in a suit, and how lovingly his deep brown eyes looked at her. Her gaze didn't leave Seth's when he came towards her and sat next to her on the bed. Only when he looked down to the floor she looked away too.

Suddenly, Seth took Summer's hand and stroked her fingers, like he had so many times before. But now it seemed different. Summer's face blushed into a deep red, and she did her best to hide her face behind her hair. The warmth of Seth's hand against hers made her feel comfortable. If he felt the same way, too?  
Shyly, Summer looked up again and into his eyes. Slowly, she took his hand in hers. "You know…" she started. Seth looked up. "… I-I can't express how thankful I am. For everything that you've done for me."  
Seth shook his head. "You don't have to thank me for this…" He was stopped by Summer's other hand that had found a very familiar place on his mouth, shutting him up like so many times before.

Summer smiled at him. "I do. When I was on my lowest low, you were there to catch me. You took me in, gave me a home, and helped me survive this huge nightmare." She paused and took a deep breath to gather herself. "You saved my life."  
Silently, a single tear rolled down her cheek. Seth raised his hand and wiped it away, looking her deep in the eyes. Summer felt millions of sparkles in the air, and even as many butterflies in her stomach. She had never loved him more in her whole life.  
Slowly, her face neared his, her lips preparing for a kind of physical love she hadn't felt for what seemed a lifetime. Summer closed her eyes, and she felt his soft lips touching hers, the butterflies in her stomach turning somersaults.

Suddenly, Summer felt Seth's hand gently pushing her away. "I can't," he said in an apologizing tone. And all of a sudden, Summer felt completely embarrassed. How could she even dare to do such a thing? Seth had a girlfriend who he probably loved, and even if they had problems at the moment, they had to figure them out. She would not destroy another happy relationship like she destroyed Seth and hers many years ago.  
Quickly, Summer stood up and went over to the wardrobes again. "I'm so sorry," she said.. "I didn't mean to…"  
"It's ok, it was my fault." Seth interrupted her. "I should have stopped this…"  
Summer nodded. "Right. Cuz you have a girlfriend."  
Seth nodded, too. "Right, and cuz I'm not a cheater."  
A huge pang of guilt went through Summer. Cheating on Seth had been the worst thing she might have done in her whole life, and comparing this situation to the one from a few years ago had hurt.

She looked down to the floor. "Right. Cuz I am." She dryly said.  
Suddenly, Seth seemed to realize what he had said, and he stood up and came towards her. "No, Summer, I didn't mean it like that. You know that I have long forgotten what happened then." He took her hands. "Please, believe me, consider what I said as some stupid Cohenish-Coheny-Cohenism from me. And it absolutely didn't have to do with you."  
Summer gently pushed Seth's hands away. "Well, but it's the truth." She whispered. "You should go and figure things out with your girlfriend. I'm not gonna destroy another relationship… Besides, I can call Marissa to help me."  
Seth seemed desperate. "Summer, I…"  
A sad smile crossed Summer's face. "I know, Cohen. Look, this isn't easy for me, and I have to finish packing, so…" her gaze went to the door.  
"Yeah, yeah, I guess I'll… see you at work on Monday." Seth answered, strolling towards the door. He paused for a moment, and Summer hoped he would come back and take her in his arms and never let her go. But all she got was a "Good night."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

_Hello everybody!_

_Thanks to everyone for your sweet reviews, I'm glad you liked the last chapter! And I hope you'll like this one, as well! There's some Seth/Ryan-time ;)_

_So please review if you read it!_

_Thanks so much!_

_Steffi_

**Chapter 11**

The following week things between Seth and his women was really tense. Madison didn't look at him when he was at home and she didn't return the calls he gave "The Coop". And Summer tried to avoid him at work the best she could, and when they were talking, it was just professional stuff.

One night before Christmas Eve, on the last working day before the holidays began, Seth decided it was time to escape the ladydrama and talk about things that were actually fun. So he called Ryan and they both decided to grab a bite at the Diner at the Pier, just for old time's sake.

When Seth entered the diner and saw Ryan sitting on the group's favorite table, he felt like being transferred back to High School all over again.  
The two young men greeted each other with a handshake, and Seth sat himself across of Ryan.

"You look incredibly good, man," Seth noticed and nodded respectfully.  
Ryan smiled. "Thanks man. Wish I could say the same 'bout you." He said, his gaze examining Seth. "You seem stressed."  
Seth laughed. "Well, yeah, ladydrama," he said. "But let's talk about something different, something delighting, something that doesn't make me think about Madison and Summer all the time", he suggested. "How's work?"  
"Good. Can't complain."  
Seth nodded. "Good. Good." He nervously drummed with his fingers on the table. "How's Marissa?"  
"Even better."  
Seth nodded again, his gaze becoming more and more stressed by every second. The years may have gone by, but Ryan hadn't changed at all. He still didn't have a way with words when he didn't feel the need for talking.

When Seth couldn't stand the silence anymore, he said, "I know we write each other eMails and stuff and there's probably nothing new to talk about, and since your life seems so perfectly… perfect, I guess I could talk a little about myself."  
Ryan laughed. "I knew you couldn't stand more than five minutes." He said triumphantly. "So I guess Marissa owes me five bucks."  
Seth raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What, you guys bet? On how long I don't talk about myself?"

All Seth got was a grin. He raised his forefinger in Ryan's direction and shook it in front of his face. "I'm just gonna be ignoring the fact that I serve as public entertainment and go on," he said, now totally in his element. "So, none of the ladies is currently talking to me."

Ryan just nodded and stared at the glass in front of him. "So?" he finally asked.  
"So, I don't know what I did wrong… " he paused for a moment, recalling the conversation he had with Summer the evening she had moved out. "Well, at least I don't know what I did wrong with Madison."  
"Yeah, Marissa told me you called Summer a cheater," Ryan said.  
Seth was shocked. "This is so not true! I only said that I wasn't a cheater! So it's my fault now that Summer refers this to her?"  
"Well, you have a talent to find the wrong moments to say the wrong things."  
Seth nodded and pressed his lips together. This meant he was thinking. "So what can I do that she'll forgive me?"

Ryan sighed. "Don't you think it's strange that you sit here and ask me what you can do to make Summer forgive you? What about Madison?"  
Seth shrugged. "What do you mean?"  
"Well, she is your girlfriend whereas Summer's just your friend. I think your priorities aren't in order. Unless…"  
"Unless what?"  
"Unless they are, and you are with the wrong woman."  
Suddenly, Seth's eyes wandered up and down the table. He was confused. "Why do people keep telling me this?", he asked, looking confused. "So are you trying to tell me that I'm still in love with Summer?"  
Ryan let out a laugh. "In love? Obsessed is the better word, I think."

Seth gave the words some time to sink in. Could that be? Okay, there was still much affection for her, but love? But on the other hand, did he love Madison? Had he ever loved her? He had to figure out what feelings he had for which woman, and then, he needed to make a decision.

Without looking at Ryan, but still staring concentrated on the table, Seth stood up. He paused next to Ryan and patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks, man," he said. "See you tomorrow at the Chrismukkah dance? I need to figure something out."  
And even before Ryan could give his ok, Seth was gone.

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Two knocks on the door – that had to be Marissa. Summer grabbed her purse and gave her image a final check in the mirror. Even if it had been her decision to move out of Seth's, she was still afraid when she heard sounds she didn't know or sounds that came unexpectedly. So she and Marissa had invented a secret knock, just that Summer knew who was in front of the door. Summer put on a jacket and opened the door with a smile. "Hi Coop…"

Summer's smile faded from friendly into irritated when she saw Seth standing in front of her.  
"What do you want from me, Cohen? You know, there's a reason why I avoided you all week." she said.  
"I wanna make it up to you. About what I said the night when you were moving out." Seth answered, and put his you-can't-resist-me-so-don't-even-try-look on. "I wanna apologize."  
Summer rolled her eyes and waved with her hand to show him to go on. "So?"  
"So I wanna invite you to the big Chrismukkah dance at my Mum's office tomorrow. And maybe we can start from the beginning?"

Summer looked away and tried to figure out if she should go. From what she had heard from Marissa, things with Seth and Madison weren't so great either. "I don't think I'll come. You know, I might be getting in the way, and…"  
"No cancels accepted. Everyone's gonna be happy to see you looking so good after the rough couple of weeks you had this year. Besides, it's Chrismukkah, and if something goes wrong, we're gonna need you to save the feast. I hear you're a specialist for that."

Now Summer couldn't help but smile. Seth could be really persuasive if he wanted to. And she could imagine better things than sitting alone in her apartment on Christmas Eve – or Chrismukkah, or whatever this day was called. "Okay." She plainly answered, letting Seth enjoy his little victory.  
Seth grinned. "So, it starts at eight. I'll see you then. Say hi to Marissa for me."  
"I will", Summer answered, still an unnerved look on her face.

Seth waved goodbye and went off. Summer closed the door behind her and leant onto it, smiling happily to herself. Maybe things were going to turn out better than she thought.

TBC...


	9. Chapter 9

_Here's Chapter 12! Madison makes a decision…_

_I hope you all like it, and please review! It means so much to me! Thanks to everyone who reviewed already!_

_Enjoy!_

_Steffi_

**Chapter 12**

Summer knew this was going to be a special night, so she dressed up like she hadn't for ages. She had even made Marissa come over to help her get styled.  
When the two girls arrived at Kirsten's new office where the dance was held, it seemed like everyone looked at Summer when she entered the room. Her dark brown hair was slightly curled and hung down her perfectly slim shoulders, a decent spark of gold shimmered on her cleavage, giving the black, backfree dress she wore an elegant note. Even Marissa didn't remember the last time she had seen Summer looking that beautiful.

When Ryan spotted the two of them, he came over and gave Summer a kiss on the cheek and Marissa a very long one on her lips. "You guys look fantastic", he said, and pointing with his head to Summer, "especially you. You seem totally happy."

Summer smiled. "Thanks, Ryan. Took me a long time to get to that point."  
Ryan gave her a sympathetic nod. He pointed out to the bar with his head. "You wanna go over to the bar? I reserved some seats for us there." Both girls agreed, and Ryan led them over to the bar, one lady at each of his arms. 

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Seth sat with his back towards the entrance, Madison next to him. They didn't talk to each other, since Madison was still angry at him. She couldn't even say exactly why she was angry at him in particular, she just was. So the two of them had a real good non-conversation going on.

When Summer, Ryan and Marissa arrived at the bar, Seth's face lightened up, and as he looked closer at Summer, her beauty took his breath away. To him, she looked like an angel that had come to the world, and when she smiled at him, he felt like he was walking on air.

To Madison, Summer looked so stunningly beautiful that she felt sick. And when Madison saw the look on Seth's face when he was greeting Summer, she couldn't help herself. Without saying a word, she went off towards the balcony for some fresh air. She couldn't even blame Seth for how he acted, and if she was honest, she wasn't angry at him. She was angry at the fact that she had never been able to give Seth the things he wanted, or the love he deserved. She had always been too occupied with being jealous and mad at him. And now she payed the price.

Seth saw Madison leave and wanted to run after her to get her back, but before he could, Summer had already taken hold of his hand and was leading him to the dancefloor. "She needs some time for herself." She said. "And while she's gone, you can start making it up to me." She smiled at him from her lowered head.  
When Seth heard the first chords of what he and Summer had declared their song at the prom, "Fix You" by Coldplay, he forgot Madison and turned his whole attention to Summer. 

Gently, Seth moved Summer to the center of the dancefloor and started swaying to the music.  
Summer's face was so close to Seth's chest that she could smell his perfume, the smell that hadn't changed since High School and had always made her feel comfortable. With the sound of "their" song coming to her ears, she shut the rest of the world out completely.

With Summer in his arms, all that Seth felt was pure happiness. Never had a woman ever been so right for him. He knew that he loved her when he saw her on the first day of school when they were kids, and even if a lot of years had passed, his feelings had never changed during all that time. "Happy Chrismukkah," Seth said with a grin.  
Summer laughed. "I wish you a very merry Chrismukkah too, Cohen."  
"So, do you forgive me?" Seth softly asked, looking down on Summer.  
She looked up and into his eyes. "Of course I do.", she whispered. "I know you didn't mean it that way."  
Seth smiled. "Thank you."  
For a long time, they were just dancing and listening to the music. Suddenly, Seth asked, "Are you happy?"  
Summer smiled up at him, her eyes shining full of love. "Right now, Cohen, I am."  
And they kept dancing in silence until the song was over.

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At the bar, Madison, who had just come back from the balcony, met Ryan who stood there and watched the couples dancing.  
"Hi. What are you doing here all alone?" she asked him when she didn't spot Marissa anywhere.  
"I'm just waiting for Marissa to come back from the bathroom. She's been in there for like ten minutes already. And she just wanted to refresh some of her lipstick."

Madison smiled. "Men will never understand that," she said, "Besides, there's no better place than the bathroom for a good chat between chicks."  
Ryan smiled, too and took a sip from his eggnog. For a while, neither of them said anything and they just watched the happy couples dancing. Almost at the same time, both their gazes went to Seth and Summer, who were in the middle of the dance floor, seeming totally lost to all their surroundings.  
When Madison noticed that Ryan was watching Summer and Seth as well, she took a big sip from her whine and asked him the question that was burning on her mind for ages now.

"They're still in love with each other, aren't they?"  
At first, Ryan didn't get who they were talking about, but when he saw the sad look on Madison's face he knew what was going on.  
"Seth is over Summer." He just said.  
"Really?" Madison wasn't so sure about that.  
"Yeah, definitely." Ryan took another sip of his eggnog and looked at the both of them again. "Or at least he wants to be." He added.  
That was the answer Madison had been most afraid to hear. But on the other hand, she had known it for a very long time now. "Do you think he'll ever be able to love another woman?"

Ryan looked at her from the corner of his eyes. Since talking still wasn't one of his specialties, he just blinked and looked back at his glass.   
Madison came closer to him. "Ryan, please. The truth."  
Ryan sighed. He let the question sink in to find the right answer. He looked straight into Madison's eyes. "Not as long as there's Summer." He answered honestly.

Just then, Marissa came back from the bathroom, smiling at the two of them, and pulling Ryan in the direction of the dance floor. "You don't mind, Maddy, do you?" she asked, but before Madison could answer, the happy couple had disappeared to dance.

Madison was really hurt by what Ryan had said. But she also knew that she had lost the fight for Seth. As long as she wasn't Summer Roberts, he would never be able to love her. And this was the moment she made her decision. 

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On the ride home, Madison didn't talk much, but Seth had been used to that for the last couple of days, so this behavior didn't surprise him. When the two of them were back at their apartment, Seth turned on the tv and Madison disappeared into the sleeping room. This wasn't unusual either. The only unusual thing about this situation was the fact that Madison reappeared this time, carrying a suitcase in each of her hands. She put the suitcases to the floor when she was in front of Seth and sat down next to him on the couch.

Seth could sense that something weird was going on, and he turned the tv off again. He knew that it would be better not to say something now, so he just sat there, waiting for Madison to finally start speaking.

Madison took a deep breath. "I love you," she said, looking into his eyes, analyzing his reaction.  
"Yeah, I-I…" Seth stuttered. He couldn't tell her these words. They were just not true.  
As if Madison seemed to know what was going on in Seth's mind at the moment, she continued. "And I know that you don't love me. Or at least not the way that I love you."  
"Madison…"  
"No, please. This is really hard for me, so let me just talk, ok?"  
Seth nodded and prepared to listen.

Tears came into Madison's eyes as she went on. "All those years, I have been living at your side, hoping that one fine day, your eyes would show me the love that they always show her. But after these past couple of weeks, I know that this will never happen." She wiped away a single tear and continued straight ahead, because she didn't want to lose her poise. "You're not happy with me, Seth. It's like the saying you can read everywhere… You never forget your first love, and in your case, that's Summer…" She sighed. "And concerning me… I'll never forget you."  
Confused, Seth took Madison's hand. "What…"  
"No, Seth! I played along with this for a very long time. But now I'm not gonna stand here and pretend that I'm your girlfriend when I'm not. Or at least not anymore. You know as well as I do that you have to be with her. And I won't stop you. You can't fight fate."

Seth was speechless. "I really don't know what to say…" he finally said.  
"How about goodbye?" Madison asked, standing up. Seth stood up, too, not knowing how to act now. Madison gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "Make her yours forever… and never let her go."  
Seth nodded sadly. He felt guilty that Madison was leaving now.  
Madison took her suitcases and kissed Seth again, this time on the lips, a long kiss that would be their last. "Bye, Seth Cohen." She whispered and went to the front door.  
Seth raised his hand and waved half-heartedly after Madison. "Goodbye."

TBC...


	10. Chapter 10

_Hello everybody! _

_Thanks for your reviews, they were really sweet and helpful! Thanks so much!_

_So today, I'm gonna post two chapters in a row, they're gonna be the last two chapters of this story. _

_I already have a sequel worked out, and in a few days, I'll post it here as well!_

_I hope you like the last two chapters!  
I have to admit that they're extremely cheesy, but I was in a bad mood when I wrote them and I needed something to cheer me up. _

_And besides, it's Christmas, so why not be a little cheesy and mushy? ;)_

_Please review!_

_Steffi_

**Chapter 13**

One week had passed since the fateful day that Madison had left Seth. And after one week of getting all his throughts straight, Seth knew what he had to do about Summer. There was gonna be a New Year's Party at the beach, organized by Julie Cooper and the rest of the adult gang. That was the perfect place to do what he should have done a long time ago.

When Summer had heard from Marissa a few days after Chrismukkah that Madison had broken up with Seth, she didn't know how to behave. And so she tried to avoid Seth again, and this time not because she was mad at him, but because she was afraid she might do anything wrong. She knew Seth Cohen only too well to know that he'd be coming up to her one day. So she lay all her hopes on the New Year's beach party. And if Seth wouldn't act then, it would be up to her to finally make them a couple again.

The New Year's Party had already started when Summer, Marissa and Ryan arrived there. After greeting everyone they knew, they sat down at one of the tables that were set up right next to the dance floor.  
Summer looked around her and was amazed by the beauty of the place where the party was held. There were tiny lights everywhere, and the moon shone down on the scenery, giving everything a very romantic touch. There was a wooden dancefloor in the middle, and a band played some party music. And if you looked a little behind the scenery, there was the ocean, the sound of the waves creating a very warm atmosphere. She turned to Marissa who sat opposite to her, holding hands with Ryan. "Your mom did a really great job," she praised, "It's absolutely amazing!"

Marissa smiled. "Yeah, if there's one thing she knows to do it's throwing outstanding parties", she said.  
"Yap, the only good thing about Julie Cooper," Ryan confirmed and grinned teasingly at Marissa.  
The same gave him a punch in the ribs. "Shut up or you'll be paying for it," she said, playing along Ryan's joke. Pretty soon, both of them were lost in kisses and cuddles, so Summer decided to leave them alone and stroll around to see who else was there.

Suddenly, she spotted Seth's mother and went over to her. Kirsten greeted her warmly. "You look beautiful", Kirsten said admiringly.  
Summer blushed. It was still odd to be called beautiful again. She definitely hadn't heard the word for a very long time. "Thank you."  
"And after all that you've been through… you can be proud at yourself for being so strong."  
Summer smiled. "Oh, I never thought I'd say this, but Seth gave me all the strength I needed. I owe him everything."  
Kirsten smiled back. You could easily tell how proud she was of her son.  
Summer's gaze searched for Seth, and Kirsten noticed that. "He's been up to some strange mysterious stuff all day… Sandy went to check on him. I guess they'll be back soon." She said, and Summer nodded.

Just when she was about to go on with her conversation with Kirsten, Summer saw Seth, trying to climb up on the bar. She frowned and excused herself to see what was going on there. "Cohen, what are you doing?" she asked when she arrived at the bar.  
When Seth had finally managed to stand safely, he raised his forefinger. "It's good to see you. Would you mind joining me up here?"  
Summer frowned again. "What? Why?"

Seth held out his hand. "There's something important that I wanna tell you."  
Still, Summer hesitated, looking around her, and saw that everyone was watching them. Ryan and Marissa had stood up and had come over. This scene reminded her so much of High School, when Seth had declared his love for her several times.  
Seth could see that Summer wasn't sure about what to do. He went on his knees and held out his hand again. "Trust me." He said, and this time, Summer took his hand, letting Seth put her up the bar. "You know what this reminds me of?" she asked and smiled. "I think I know what's about to come."  
Seth smiled back. "I think you don't," he said with a smirk and took both of her hands.

He took a deep breath. "Okay. Listen, Summer. Now that Madison and me sort of broke up, I am now free for you. But, you might as well say that the whole reason that we broke up was cuz for me… it's always been you, Summer. It has always been, it still is, and it will be forever, you. I've tried to fight it for a long long time, and I've tried do deny it even longer. But I never could. I could never do it. Cuz Summer, you are, will be, and always have been, undeniable."  
Summer's heart pounded to her chest. This was the sweetest repitition of a declaration of love that she had ever heard. She gave Seth a huge smile. "You're still so cheesy Cohen," she said, squeezing his hands. Summer looked around her again, and saw that people were still watching. And she added playfully, "Hey, do you want me to hook up with you now? Cuz, you know, we've been there once and so…"

Seth interrupted her. "Wait, this time, I'm not finished." He let go of of her hands and took a small box that Ryan handed him. "So after I have spent all my life so far trying to deny you, and finally understood that that will never work, it would be a great honor to me… if you'd become my wife."

Summer's head started to spin. Seth had been right. She didn't know what had been about to come. Millions of butterflies were dancing in her stomach, making her feel like she was walking on air. Confused, she looked from Seth to Marissa, who was smiling broadly at her, and back to Seth, who looked at her hopefully.  
Just when she was about to say something, Seth went down on his knees in front of her, opening the small box Ryan had given him. A beautiful ring shone at her. She couldn't believe this was happening.

Seth looked up at her, his look more intense than the first time. "Summer Roberts, will you marry me?"  
Summer felt tears coming up to her eyes. One of her hands went to her face, trying to wipe them away, the other one went up to her chest, trying to calm her heart. She wanted to reply, but she was so overwhelmed with her feelings that she couldn't manage to say anything.  
Seth gave her the warmest smile she had ever seen, and his eyes were so full of love that it made her heart melt. "It's easy," Seth said, "All you have to say is yes." He smiled at her.

Summer laughed and went down on her knees to him. She looked him in his warm brown eyes, and she knew that Seth was right. This was easy. "Yes," she whispered. "There's nothing I'd rather do."

The crowd started to applaud, and Summer and Seth shared a kiss that lasted for what seemed an eternity, as if they had to make up for the love they had missed over the last years. When they finally let go of each other, Seth hugged her as tight as he could. "I love you", Summer whispered into his ear, the words sounding like a melody to him. Seth considered himself the luckiest man on the planet. "I love you, too."


	11. Chapter 11

_The last chapter… enjoy!_

**Chapter 14**

The following weeks Seth and Summer lived like they were in a dream. After they had to live without their love for so long, they spend almost every minute together. Summer had moved out of her apartment and back into Seth's, and the preparations for the wedding were made. The wedding was to take place on Valentine's Day, Seth and Summer's anniversary.

They had never experienced so much stress in their life, but it was the best stress someone could imagine. And after weeks of stress and hard organizing work, the night before the wedding had finally arrived. Since Seth and Summer had gotten back together, this was the first night they had to spend apart, Summer at Ryan and Marissa's place, and Seth had Ryan over at his apartment. Kirsten and Sandy had split up as well, Sandy to help his son and Kirsten to be there for her soon-to-be daughter-in-law.

Neither Seth nor Summer were able to find sleep that night.  
Seth was sitting on the balcony, listening to Death Cab, his favorite band, and reading through his vow over and over again. He wanted it to be perfect, but he didn't find the words to show how much Summer meant to him. Lost in thought, he didn't hear his father and Ryan coming onto the balcony. Sandy wore a knowing grin and patted his son on the shoulder. "Well, what do I see here? My son, sleepless the night before his wedding. I think I've never been so proud."  
Ryan grinned and sat down next to Seth. "Afraid you're making a mistake?" he asked playfully.  
Seth nodded unnerved. "Very funny, you two. Can't a man be up the night before his wedding?"  
Sandy sat next to his boys, smiling. "Look, it's totally normal that you're excited. I couldn't sleep for three days before I married your mom. It's a huge step you're taking."

Seth nodded. "Yeah, you see, and that's not even the problem. I'm not afraid to take the step. I'm afraid that this here might not be good enough for her." He waved with the vow he held in his hand. "It seems I can't find the right words for her."  
"Don't you think that everything you're gonna say is gonna be perfect?" Ryan asked. "Yeah, maybe perfect for her, but not perfect enough for me." Seth rubbed his head. "I just want her to know that she's the love of my life."  
Sandy laughed. "I never thought I'd say a thing like that, but here's some advice your grandfather once gave me. Your mother had told me she had lost her wedding ring and I was absolutely stressed into getting her a new one. Then Cal asked me why I needed to get her that ring. And I said that I needed it to show her that she's the love of my life. You know what he said then?"  
Seth shook his head. "No, but since I know you, I guess you'll tell me."  
Sandy nodded. "He said, 'just tell her'. Do you get that?"

Seth frowned. "Dad, I love how you can talk in riddles, but I'm not in the mood for one right now."  
Sandy sighed. Sometimes his son put up problems where there weren't any.  
Suddenly, Ryan answered. "Come on, man. This means that a simple 'I love you' is the most meaningful thing you can tell her."  
Sandy was enthusiastic. "Exactly! Not what you say is important. It's important that you mean it."  
Seth frowned again and sighed. He got up from his chair and went inside. "Okay, guys, thank you. I'm gonna go and try to find some sleep."  
Sandy and Ryan looked at each other. Sandy lay a hand on Ryan's shoulder. "If I can teach you anything, kid, don't ever get married." Sandy said, and the both of them started to laugh.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the same time Seth had been sitting on the balcony, Summer sat in Marissa's living room, staring out of the window into the starlit sky, stroking the beautiful ring she wore around her finger. The butterflies in her stomach didn't stop to turn somersaults. She was so happy that her life would be like a dream come true.  
Marissa and Kirsten were sitting behind her, reading the vow Summer had written for Seth. When they were finished, Marissa's eyes were full of tears. She ran over to Summer and hugged her. "Oh my God, Sum, this is so beautiful! If I could I'd marry you now," she added jokingly, and the three women laughed. Kirsten stood up and hugged Summer as well. "This is just perfect, sweetie, I'm sure he'll love it."

Summer smiled happily. "Thanks, you guys", she said. "Even if it's such a huge step, it seems like the easiest thing I've ever had to do."  
Kirsten stroked Summer's arm. "I'm so happy for you two." she said, a single tear shining in her eyes.  
Marissa nodded. "You truly deserves this, Sum. Tomorrow's gonna be the best day ever."  
Summer smiled broadly. Marissa was right. This was gonna be the best day ever.

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The following hours had passed like in time lapse, and before Seth could realize it, he stood in the church, looking down the aisle and expecting his beautiful bride, Ryan right next to his side as his best man. On Summer's side of the aisle there was Marissa, who was Summer's bridesmaid. Seth was excited like a little boy when he looked at the crowded church and thought about what was going to happen in a few moments. He smiled at his mother who sat in front of him in the first row, fighting back the tears of joy that her little baby became married. Seth mouthed an 'I love you' to her and received an air-kiss from her as an answer.  
When the band finally started to play, Ryan patted Seth on the shoulder and grinned. "So, this is it, man", he said playfully. "No return."  
Seth nodded and grinned, his eyes never leaving the aisle. "I don't care", he said happily. Never before in his life he had been so sure about something.

And suddenly, there she was, walking slowly around the corner of the church, accompanied by Sandy who took the part as the bride's male attendant since Summer's Dad unfortunately wasn't able to attend this important day anymore.  
When Seth saw his stunningly beautiful bride he had to do his best to fight back the tears of joy that were coming up inside of him. This was really happening. The moment he had been dreaming of since he had been still a child finally came true.

And her incredible beauty took Seth's breath away. Her long, dark brown hair was curled and hung softly over her slim shoulders. Her dress was a shoulder-free and almost 6 feet long dream of white silk, decently revealing the perfect shape of her body. A veil hung down behind her back, adding even more grace to her appearance. Tons of golden and silver glitter lay on her cleavage, making her shine like a star. She looked like the Chrismukkah-Summer from two months ago, but this time, everything on her looked perfect. Seth couldn't think a clear thought, he just stood there, not able to get it into his head that this beautiful woman would become his wife.

Slowly, Summer raised her head, looking at Seth, her bambi-brown eyes full of love, not leaving his until she arrived at the altar. Her cheeks shone all pink from all the excitement of the last few hours, but she didn't care.  
When Sandy and Summer had finally arrived at the altar, the music stopped. Sandy gave Summer a kiss on the cheek and smiled at her.  
Summer returned Sandy's smile and faced Seth. She couldn't believe how much she loved him. It felt like her love for him grew stronger by each second that passed.  
As if reading her thoughts, Seth mouthed these exact words to her. Summer couldn't answer. She was so happy it made her numb to everything else. She just stood there, facing Seth and knowing she had never been so sure before her whole life.

Finally, the priest took over his part and the crowd stood up. Summer and Seth both looked at the people in the church who were all smiling happily at them. Ryan and Marissa seemed almost happier than the bridal couple. Summer did all her best to fight back her tears. She didn't want to cry right at the beginning of the ceremony, because it would ruin all of her make up.

The priest started his speech. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the wedding of Seth Cohen and Summer Roberts. When two people love each other, the holy bond of marriage is bound to be forever, for it is the biggest commitment of love that can be made between them."  
Seth sighed, and Summer smiled happily. Gently, she took his hands. She had been all excited before everything started, but now she felt wonderfully calm.

After the two of them had sworn their love for each other until death would part them, the biggest part came up. The priest handed them their wedding rings, and Summer was the first one to give her vow.

With shaking hands, she placed the ring on Seth's ring finger. Tears were coming up again, but this time, she didn't want them to stop.  
"Seth…" This was harder than she had imagined. How could she speak if there were more and more tears running down her cheeks? Summer laughed and tucked a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear. "Okay," she whispered and took a deep breath. "Seth… I love you." She laughed again. "It was hard for me to say it when we were younger, but now it seems like the easiest thing to me. I love you so much. But none of the love I can ever give you will be enough to show you how much I owe you for what you did for me." New tears prickled in her eyes as she went on. "You're not only the man I love, you're also my best friend… my savior."

Seth was overwhelmed by his emotions. A single tear ran down his face when he let the words Summer had told him sink in. And now that he looked at her, his problems from the night before seemed to be absolute nonsense. Suddenly, he understood what his father had wanted to tell him. He placed the wedding ring on Summer's ring finger and made his heart speak. "Summer… I thought… that this was the hardest thing I'd ever have to do… because I doubted that I'd be able to find the words to express what I feel for you." He softly stroked Summer's face, trying to dry her tears of joy. Seth smiled broadly. "You're the love of my life. I will never ever let any terrible things happen to you. I guess I fell in love with you when I first saw you when we were just kids." He paused, letting the memory of those days come back to them. "And today, I love you more than anything. I knew it then, and I know it now… I belong to you."

After those wonderful vows had been given, Seth and Summer stared happily at each other, enjoying every second of what was just happening.  
And before the priest could tell them to kiss, Summer's and Seth's lips were already linked, softly caressing each other, exchanging the unbelievably deep love they felt for one another.  
"I guess I'm needless here," the priest grinned. The crowd laughed and started to applaud as Seth and Summer stood in front of the aisle, kissing like they could never be separated.

Finally, the two of them managed to let go of each other, facing their family and friends. To Summer, it still felt like a dream when she thought about how hopeless her life had seemed only a few months ago. She looked at Seth, her savior. And when Seth smiled happily at her, she knew she would never let him go again.

And nothing had ever felt so right before.

**_THE END_**


End file.
